Amelia and Dandelion Painting

birth: 1975, moline, illinois, USA There is not a more dominant force behind my work than the prairie of the Midwestern landscape. I long for immersions in wide-open expanses, where I’m blinded by the amber glow of an evening sky, can hear nothing but the wind, or taking in other elements that bring a welcome withdrawal from our modern, cluttered “everyday.” My yearning for this solitude manifests itself in several distinct bodies of work. There are minimal reflections on the bleakness of the winterscape; whimsical abstractions where trees, colorful patchwork quilts, and other elements fly high above a distant ground; and darker— even violent — explorations that tie to my longing for a simpler life.